:: Notre Dame Football: Irish Game Day ::
Notre Dame routs Purdue 38-10 in dominant road performance, overpowering solid Big Ten opponent
Leprechaun Express: Notre Dame Football Intel Update Oct. 2, 2011
In a series that began in the late nineteenth century, Notre Dame 2011 was strong on both sides of the ball in a consistently dominant 38-10 road win over perennial rival Purdue of the Big Ten/12.
The Irish rolled up 551 yards of balanced offense, 287 on the ground and 264 through the air, to the Boilermakers' 276 yards total offense.
Cierre Wood rushed for 191 yards on 20 carries, Michael Floyd had 12 catches for 137 yards and a 35-yard touchdown, and Tommy Rees was 25 of 41 for 264 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Rees hit six receivers total, with three different receivers scoring touchdowns, including tight end Tyler Eifert and wide receiver T.J. Jones as well as Floyd.
Linebacker Manti Te'o led a Notre Dame team effort on defense with 8 tackles and a sack, as the Irish limited Purdue to 84 yards on the ground as just 3.1 yards per carry, and just a 50% pass completion rate. Defensive back Gary Gray snagged an interception on the first play from scrimmage to set up a quick Notre Dame passing touchdown from Rees to Floyd.
Surging Notre Dame, on a three-game winning streak and now above .500 at 3-2, looked crisp, alert, athletic and opportunistic as they overpowered a solid Boilermakers team from start to finish.
The Irish are halfway to bowl eligibility as they enter a three-game home stand against Air Force, Southern Cal and Navy, with two weeks to ready for prime-time match-up with the Trojans after next week's game against Air Force.
After the game, Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly talked of the need to match Purdue's intensity and get off to a quick start, as well as the need to get the ball in Floyd's hands and be stout against the run:
We got off to a good start obviously; on the road against a Big Ten team was key for us. Also getting Mike Floyd the ball early on really gave us a lot of confidence on offense. Defensively making it difficult for a team to run was important for us. Overall, we matched their intensity. It was a big game they circled on their calendars and they had a couple weeks to prepare so matching their intensity was important.
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Quick Score Off a Turnover (Instead of Making Turnovers)
After ranking last in Div. I-A/FBS for turnover margin, Notre Dame registered zero turnovers, and snagged an interception on the first play from scrimmage. It was a turnover the Irish promptly converted into a 35-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rees to Michael Floyd two plays later, to go up 7-0 just 24 seconds into the game.
Wood, Floyd, Rees Strong Production
Cierre Wood, a speedster who can bull up the middle, had a strong 9.6 yards per carry, punctuated by a 55-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that put the Irish up 21-0. Just shy of 200 yards for the day, Wood had 191 yards on 20 carries.
At one point, Wood also showed an unusual feat of athleticism, and incredible vertical leap, by literally hurdling up and over a linebacker in mid-stride.
Meanwhile, Floyd had 12 catches for 137 yards and the 35-yard touchdown, while Tommy Rees was 25 of 41 for 264 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Another First Quarter Score
Late in the first quarter, Notre Dame drove 82 yards on 12 plays, featuring a dynamic mix of runs and passes, and four Purdue penalties, capping off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run by Jonas Gray to put Notre Dame up 14-0.
Power Running Attack: Wood-Gray Tandem and Strong Offensive Line
Notre Dame has seemed bent on restoring a dominant power-running game reminiscent of Irish days past. In Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray, Notre Dame hash two strong, fast, agile running backs behind a big, athletic offensive line. Rather than being another "thunder and lightning duo," both Wood and Gray have a bit of lightning and a bit of thunder. Overall, the Irish rushed for 287 yards on 40 carries, at a robust 7.2 yards per carry.
And for the second week in a row, Notre Dame had a long touchdown run from one of its halfbacks to go with robust overall production.
Wood Powers 79-Yard Scoring Drive in Second Quarter;
Just Shy of 200 Yards on the Night
Wood, a speedster who can bull up the middle, had 9.6 yards per carry, punctuated by the 55-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that put the Irish up 21-0.
On that three-play scoring drive alone, Wood had three carries for all 79 yards of the drive. Just shy of 200 yards for the day, Wood had 192 yards on 19 carries.
Gray adds 92 yards and a Touchdown
Gray, a fullback-sized halfback with good speed, acceleration and quick cuts that he showed in a long run at Pitt last week, complemented Wood's performance with 92 yards on 15 carries against Purdue, at a strong 6.2 yards per carry.
Thunder and Lightning
As mentioned above, it is quite interesting that Gray and Wood could have been "Thunder and Lightning," but actually each of them has a bit of both. Gray is big but also has speed, acceleration and agile cuts. Wood is a speedster with quick, fluid cuts who can hurdle a linebacker with vertical leap, but who also can pound it up the middle like a bull in a china shop and make subtle body-momentum bursts to pick up extra turf even while being brought down.
Purdue Gets on Board after Being Shut Out for Nearly a Half;
Notre Dame Defense Stout and Stifling
After stunning Purdue with an interception on the first play from scrimmage, the Notre Dame defense shut out Purdue for most of the first half. The Boilermakers did manage to mount a scoring drive culminating in a field goal late in the second quarter, making it 21-3.
Notre Dame Keeps Rolling in the Second Half
Looking more like a home team than an away team, the Irish got the ball to start the second half and promptly went 69 yards in 7 plays for a touchdown, going up 28-3 just three minutes into the third quarter.
The drive including three runs by Wood and passes from Rees to wide receivers Floyd and T.J. Jones, and tight end Tyler Eifert, with Eifert snagging a 6-yard catch to cap off the drive.
After getting the ball back following a defensive stand, Notre Dame followed up with a 12-play, 87-yard drive featuring another dynamic mix of runs and passes, and culminating in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Rees to Jones. Eating nearly 5 minutes off the clock, Notre Dame took a 35-0 lead late in the third quarter, while going little hope that Purdue could score again.
Ruffer Adds Field Goal After Long Sustained Drive
In a game where Notre Dame only had to punt twice, the Irish stopped Purdue on a three-and-out and once again went marching downfield.
In a drive beginning late in the third quarter and carrying into the middle of the fourth, Notre Dame went 16 plays in 70 yards, eating up the equivalent of a half of a quarter off the clock.
After Notre Dame got down to the four-yard-line, David Ruffer booted a 21-yard field goal, a difficult aim from a sharp angle, to seal the matter 38-3 and give Notre Dame a five-touchdown lead with about eight minutes to go.
Purdue did manage to tack on a lone touchdown in the final minute to make it 38-10.
Six Irish Receivers, Three with Touchdowns
Rees completed passes to six receivers, three of whom had receiving touchdowns.
In addition to Floyd's 12 catches for 137 yards and the 35-yard touchdown to open the scoring, Jones had 5 catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. Eifert, the tight end, followed an 8-catch performance against Pitt with four catches against Purdue for 38 yards and a touchdown.
Halfback Cierre Wood picked up a nimbler 20 yards receiving on 2 catches, and electrifying kick-off return man George Atkinson III, who already has had a kick-off return for a touchdown, had 1 catch for 10 yards as a receiver. Wide receiver John Goodman also had a catch, for 8 yards.
Irish Defense Continues Strong Showing
The Notre Dame defense, in a stout team effort paces by linebacker Manti Te'o with 8 solo tackles and a sacks, limited Purdue to just 84 yards rushing at just 3.1 yards per carry. The Irish also limited Purdue to just a 50% completion rate through the air, giving up 192 yards on 19 of 38 passing by Purdue with an interception.
On the night, Notre Dame nearly doubled-up Purdue 551 yards to 276.
In a steady team effort, defensive back Robert Blanton had 5 total tackles, linebacker Carlo Calabrese had 4, and 5 Notre Dame defenders had 3 total tackles each, paced by up-and-coming freshman defensive lineman Aaron Lynch, who also had a sack.
Overall, the Notre Dame defense, already crediting with helping nail down Notre Dame's two previous wins, is not only looking big, fast and athletic, but focused, well-schooled, strong to the ball, disciplined in their tackling, and all-day tough with smooth intensity through four quarters of play.
They will need all of the above next week, as Notre Dame welcomes Air Force to the House that Rockne Built.
Conclusions: Notre Dame Football Rolling Ahead
Notre Dame is a great team that has been playing hard, that could have been undefeated and in the top-10 if not for mistakes, penalties and turnovers in its first two game.
Brian Kelly, forging ahead with resilience, passion and perseverance, had praised Notre Dame's poise and hard effort, and now has a ballclub erasing some of the earlier mistakes and playing with focused intensity from start to finish.
Rees, while still just flirting with the potential to be a deep threat, and at times perhaps staring down receivers a bit as a still-young quarterback, nevertheless has shown that he is a competent and efficient passer and signal-caller, now 7-1 as a starter.
Not only does Rees seem poised, smooth and consistent, he gives the impression that he enjoys competing, enjoys excelling and, when he makes a mistake, conveys the sense that he enjoys shrugging off the mistake, bouncing back and still competing hard.
Most notably this year, Rees was involved with a number of the turnovers plaguing Notre Dame across several games, only to contribute to a big win over Michigan State, help gut out the excrutiating semi-ugly win over Pitt, and then turn around and lead a turnover-free effort against Purdue.
Rees also has shown that, with a power running game firing on all cylinders, demanding defenses to account for it, Rees and his All-American caliber receivers can complement the running game by carving up the opposing defense with efficient and timely playcalling by Kelly, as the opponent is made, more and more, to defend against multiple threats.
Floyd undoubtedly could be a powerful deep threat, who instead is appearing, at times, unstoppable as almost a short to mid-range utility receiver receiving accurate throws.
Meanwhile, Eifert is coming to fore, already having demonstrated last year that he might have the potential to not just been a good, solid "next man in" but an heir apparent to Tight End U. Already Eifert is among the top tight ends in college football as a receiver.
As Kelly appears to be building momentum with a kind of spiral development process that cobbles together elements of winning football and tries to make them stick, Notre Dame already has shown it can overpower a ranked opponent at home, win ugly agains a solid opponent on the road, and consistently rout a solid opponent on the road.
As the season rolls on and the Irish plow through what is once again a murderer's row schedule, there are no easy games. Notre Dame will continue to have to overpower strong opponents, and face elite ones as well along the way.
Next up is Air Force, mounting an option attack and all-day ferocity of a kind similar to what caused Notre Dame to implode against Navy last year, before redeeming themselves somewhat against Army.
If Notre Dame rests on their laurels, it will be a long day against the Falcons. But just moments after blowing out Purdue, Kelly perhaps already hinted at what asuste observers might be surmising, that Notre Dame, better not think they have "arrived" or anything like that, but still with much work ahead.
Notre Dame heads into a three-game home-stand needing three wins to become bowl eligible. Their opponents? Air Force blew out Notre Dame in 2007 when the two teams last played. Then the Irish have two weeks to get ready for Southern Cal. Then it will be the second option-attack military academy in three games, Navy, who blew out Notre Dame last year, in what Kelly termed an aberration of a perfomance by Notre Dame, a Navy program that has beaten Notre Dame three times in four years.
Think the Irish will be motivated? They had better be, and be ready to hit, hit hard, and hit often. But first come the Air Force Falcons.
Keywords: Notre Dame Football, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, University of Notre Dame, Brian Kelly, Tommy Rees, Michael Floyd, Manti Te'o, Tyler Eifert, Purdue, College Football, Football
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